The sun will return today, but the National Weather Service says the temperatures are set to turn sharply colder and stay that way the rest of the week in the Lehigh Valley.

This extended period of dry and cold weather comes 18 days before the official start of the winter season, which is Friday, December 21.

After widespread and dense fog this morning, the weather service says we can expect gusty westerly winds through the day. That’s thanks to the arrival of a strong cold front, which means many locations will see their daytime highs happen this morning.

In terms of how it feels outside the rest of the week, let’s just say it’s all downhill from here. Though we can expect sunny skies during the day and mostly clear skies at night, temperatures will be cold for early December with highs in the mid to upper 30s during the day and lows in the 20s overnight.

Tracking Storm Chances

You may have heard the faint rattle of storm drums at the end of our long-term forecast, but at this point, it’s barely an audible sensation.

The weather service says there are indications from operational models that a storm system may approach from the southwest and bring the possibly of rain and snow next Sunday and Monday.

Images by Tomer Burg

This graphic from the GFS - Hour 144 Forecast shows a low pressure system suppressed to our south on Sunday.

This graphic from the GFS - Hour 144 Forecast shows a low pressure system suppressed to our south on Sunday. (Images by Tomer Burg)

You can see this graphic from the Global Forecast System (GFS), which suppresses the storm and shows it completely missing our area.

The Canadian model has the same system moving across our area with abundant moisture, but with a warming trend in place. That would mean rain, not snow, for the Lehigh Valley.

The European model show the system remaining to our south, but with clouds and precipitation affecting areas south and east of the Lehigh Valley.

At this point, meteorologists in Mount Holly say precipitation chances will remain in the forecast Sunday until models begin to converge on a steady solution.

Here is the extended Lehigh Valley forecast from the National Weather Service:

Monday

Widespread dense fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 51. West wind 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 39. Northwest wind around 8 mph.

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 24. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight.